Yesterday I went to Hannah Hart’s book signing at the Housing Works Bookstore on a whim and had my mind blown. I’m honestly still picking up the pieces.
I first watched Hannah’s Youtube series “My Drunk Kitchen” in 2011, after just moving away from my parents for the first time to start college. I remember feeling so awkward and insecure as I tried to adjust to my new environment and all these new faces and names that all had ... Read More

Planning a hike, or just a stroll through the park? Either way, a picnic is the original cheap date, and we’ve got the perfect sandwich to bring along for the ride. Caponata is a Sicilian sweet-and-sour eggplant salad that’s laced with olives and finished off with fresh basil. This salad is ideal for a picnic, since the touch of vinegar gives it a pickled, summer-y appeal, and because the taste may even improve after it’s been toted around at ... Read More

The next time someone asks who you're knitting that sweater for, say your brain.
It's long been assumed that creative types like Sylvia Plath are somehow more susceptible to depression, when in fact the opposite might be true; writing poems may have been her brain's way of fighting depression.
"When we are involved in (creativity), we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life," says Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. "You know ... Read More

My grandmother was an artist, and throughout her career, she’d make abstract sculptures and embroidery that I’d stare at for hours as a child: “oh, that looks like a face, and that there? That’s an animal.” Our play was art-making, and I was always amazed at how different her aesthetic would become when she was with me. Her paper dolls weren’t abstract at all; I’d make an abstract shape, and she’d magically ... Read More

Of all the glorious corn-based creations on Earth, tamales—steamed cornmeal cakes filled with protein or vegetables—are my fave to eat. Though they take forever to make, you can whip up a few dozen of these at once, freeze them, then reheat as you want to eat them.
Makes: 3 dozen tamales
Total Time: 7 hours for pork, 3 hours for vegetarian
You’ll need a slew of cornhusks, a steamer, and plenty of time. Buy the dry husks from a Mexican ... Read More